Above: Sam Overton and Cha Cha Blue GHP

The 2022 Pryde’s EasiFeed Australian Jumping Championships got underway this morning at the magnificent Boneo Park Equestrian centre situated on the picturesque Mornington Peninsula. This is the fourth time that Boneo Park has hosted the championships and each year the championships get better and better and is certainly the highlight of the Australian Jumping competition calendar.

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The Championships commenced with the first round of the Verband Holsteiner Germany Future Stars Competition, for horses that are 6, 7, 8 or 9 years-old. Performances in this first round and tomorrow’s second round will determine the top 50% of combinations eligible for Saturday’s Final.

A total of 49 combinations braved the early chill, producing 24 clear rounds. The fastest clear round was achieved by Frida Lindgren and the mare Sovereign’s Halo.

With the fastest clear round heading into the jump-off, we could have expected this combination to feature strongly in the final placings and they did, going on to finish in third place. However, it was Lindgren who also went on to win the class with the gelding Van Damme with a scintillating jump-off performance in a time of just 36.89 seconds, almost a second clear of their nearest rival. Second place went to another Victorian combination, namely Andrew Lamb and Oaks Ever Red in 37.83 seconds. Frida Lindgren and Sovereign’s Halo went very close to securing a one-two finish with a very close third, stopping the clock at 37.93 seconds.

It was a wonderful class with a total of 14 combinations recording two clear rounds. The win will secure Lindgren and Van Damme maximum points in the series, heading into round 2 on Thursday, which is certain to be a very close competition. At the end of the class Sophia Gostelow, Australian representative to Holsteiner Verband Germany presented ribbons to all the placegetters.

Above: Frida Lindgren and Van Damme

The second class on Flemings Nurseries Arena 2 was the first round of the Kiernan Plant Hire Mini Prix. The Mini Prix competition is for horses that are not entered in any of the major championship series and with rail heights starting at 1.40m, only very good horses can be competitive at this level.

The start list had 46 combinations listed and despite a damp surface, high quality jumping ensued.

In total, there were 17 clear rounds with the fastest being achieved by the winner of the previous class, Frida Lindgren, this time with Mabobri De Mabribo in a time of 69.08 seconds.

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The jump-off was an exciting affair with Tom McDermott and Warraleigh Park Cortez finishing clear and fast and holding the lead for a long time. That was until the last horse on course crossed the line. Once again, Lindgren and Mabobri De Mabribo raced around the course, beating all comers to take the win. Their time of 34.92 seconds knocked McDermott and Warraleigh Park Cortez into second place by a margin of 0.7 seconds. Jamie Winning-Kermond and Tulara Stolensky, stopped the clock in 36.65 seconds, to finish in third place.

Above: Frida Lindgren and Mabobri De Mabribo

It was a great class, with the first 10 placed combinations all recording double clears and only five and a half seconds difference between first and tenth. The second round of the Kiernan Plant Hire Mini Prix will be held on Thursday afternoon, before the final scheduled for Saturday.

The first round of one of the 4cyte Australian Children’s Championship was the final class on the Flemings Nurseries Arena 2 this afternoon. The second round is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon and the final on Saturday morning. Run as a single round class, the jumping kept the large crowd watching entertained late into the afternoon.

The winners who went clear and over 1.5 seconds faster than their nearest rivals were the NSW combination of Charlie Magnier and his gelding Master Stevie G. Second place, in a time of 56.17 seconds were Lucy Borrack and Mighty Tosca. Third and fourth place went to South Australian visitor Imogen Lindh. She was third in combination with the mare Licaviv in a time of 56.35 seconds. The combination which came overall second place in the 2021 Children’s Championship, Imogen Lindh and BIackall Park Koraleigh were placed fourth today in a time of 57.16 seconds. With a total of 17 clear rounds, the rest of the Children’s Championship is sure to provide an enthralling competition.

Charlie Magnier and Master Stevie G

The opening class on the Tulara Warmbloods Arena 3 was the first round of the Emerald Series, which had a large field of 71 combinations on the start list. With 30 clear rounds, the scene was set for a massive jump-off. At the half-way point in the jump-off, Olivia Hamood and Boseda had shown the others a clean set of heels, setting the standard with another clear round and a time of 39.18 seconds. However, in the second half of the jump-off, two combinations eclipsed their performance. The Queensland combination of Cody Tincknell and Lady Quincella Gold, fresh from a pair of wins in 1.10m classes at last weekend’s Arilla Cup show, rocketed around the jump-off track, clear in 37.76 seconds to claim the victory. Second place with a jump-off time of 37.92 were James Harvey and Yirrkala Celeste, a combination which finished in third place in this series last year. Hamood and Boseda ended up in third.

It was a high-quality class, which saw 21 combinations go double clear and sets up what is sure to be a closely fought series.

The second and final class on the Tulara Warmbloods Arena 3 today was the Southern Cross Event Hire Open 1.10m class. There were 71 combinations on the start list and 24 of them achieved a clear round. This conditions of this class did not include a jump-off, so the winner was the quickest of the clear rounds, and that combination was Queenslanders Sarah Weiss and Twins Delux. They were the only combination to break the 60 second mark, although the second and third placegetters went very close. Second place, with a time of 60.46 seconds were the winners of the earlier First Round of the Emerald Series, Cody Tincknell and Lady Quincella Gold. Just 0.03 seconds behind them in third place was Des Gleeson and Mingara Vonbella.

In all, there were 24 clear rounds, demonstrating how well many competitors are jumping at the moment. It was a fantastic day to kick-off the championships and all bodes well for a successful and entertaining championship.

Congratulations to all the winners and placegetters for the day, listed below:

FLEMINGS NURSERIES ARENA 2

CLASS 1: VERBAND HOLSTEINER GERMANY – FUTURE STARS (ROUND 1) – MINIMUM 1.30m

CLASS 2: KIERNAN PLANT HIRE – MINI PRIX (ROUND 1) – MINIMUM 1.40m

CLASS 3: 4CYTE – AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN’S CHAMPIONSHIP (ROUND 1) – 1.05-1.10m

TULARA WARMBLOODS ARENA 3

CLASS 4: TRAILRACE SADDLERY – EMERALD SERIES (ROUND 1) – MINIMUM 1.10m

CLASS 5: SOUTHERN CROSS EVENT HIRE – OPEN – 1.10m

Results sourced from online.equipe.com